


Man’s Best Friend is now a Fox?

by pichu10176



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comedy, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Slice of Life, Supernatural Elements, kid!Akechi, kitsune!Akira
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:53:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26293687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pichu10176/pseuds/pichu10176
Summary: Akechi was fostered by a couple who turned out to be too busy to properly look after him. Being alone most of his time in this new town, Akechi bonded with an animal who was tormented by some kids and took care of it while it recovered from its injuries. Little did he know that creature was more than a simple fox.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 6
Kudos: 139





	Man’s Best Friend is now a Fox?

Akechi doesn’t want to go back home. 

He was currently crouching down, half-heartedly playing in the sand with a stick he found today. It might be strange to see a kid playing by himself in the middle of the day but Akechi always seems to be a special case.

He was taken in by a couple who lived in a small town called Inaba. The town was located at the base of a mountain. It was a place where everyone knew each other. This means that rumors spread quickly about Akechi and his unsightly background. All the parents told their children to keep away from the new kid so Akechi’s anticipation of making new friends quickly disappeared when he saw how far the children kept away from him.

It shouldn’t be surprising.

He was a _cursed_ child after all. Everyone said so in his old place. It was pathetic that he got excited about moving in the first place.

Even though he was ignored by the other kids due to his reputation, at least it was better than staying at home. His foster parents weren’t mean or anything like that. They were busy and worked odd hours so Akechi doesn’t have a chance to see them very often. They prepared meals for him and left it on the table or fridge before going to work. He hasn’t seen them longer than an hour or two before they leave. 

The house was too quiet. Akechi can’t enjoy his usual hobbies like reading or doing puzzles in that sort of atmosphere. Even though he still felt invisible by everyone when he was outside, Akechi can still enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by nature. The feel of the wind blowing his hair, the smell of the trees and flowers, and the noise of the birds chirping. He doesn’t feel so isolated being outside.

It was very disheartening to discover how lonely his new living situation turned out to be.

This whole situation was similar to when he was living in an institutional home. He shouldn’t compare both places because living here was much better. The staff members in the institutional home were overworked that they overlooked the kids who were quiet and kept to themselves, prioritizing the ones who were loud and disruptive. Sometimes, he wanted to throw a tantrum just so someone would pay attention to him, but he always stopped himself last minute. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to take their tired, frustrated looks if he actually went through with that.

Being invisible might be better than being a disappointment.

His foster parents weren’t like that, they were nice...they were just busy. He can’t blame that they need to go to work to make a living. 

He can’t. 

He shouldn’t. 

But he was. 

He was such a horrible kid for thinking such things. Maybe he deserved all the bad things that happened to him. He always wanted more. Maybe that’s why his mother killed herself.

Even moving far away from Akechi’s old place can’t prevent people from finding out about his past. If everything was always going to be the same and he was always going to be sad wherever he went, what’s the point in living? To live a life full of misery, he wondered if this is what his mother felt before she killed herself.

Ha ha. And his thoughts went back to his mother again. He wants to have a day where he could have fun and forget briefly that he wasn’t the reason why his mom to kill herself. 

As his thoughts spiraled downwards, he continued to dug into the sad deeper and broke off the edge of his stick. Akechi sighed as he stared at the stick that was a few centimeters shorter. It still was pretty long. As he can still use it to draw on the sand, he didn’t really care about the length. He was about to proceed with his drawing before a loud noise drew Akechi out of his thoughts. It sounded like a strange cry. 

Was someone hurt?

He looked up from his Featherman drawing to find the source of the sound and saw a few of his classmates huddled together and throwing rocks at something. They were taunting something and snickered at the creature’s distress. 

Akechi stood up quietly as he tightened his grip on his stick. He could hide how scared he was if he hides behind a weapon. He’ll just grip the stick harder so that it wouldn’t be too visible that his hand were shaking. He won’t use it or anything (hopefully), but he needs some sort of security when he confronts them.

“Hey! Stop picking on the animal! I already told the police and h-he’s coming here right now! I-If you stay, you’ll be in big trouble!” He yelled at them as he stood straight with his chest puffed out. He furrowed his eyebrows as he glared at them.

The kids stopped what they were doing and stared at him as they took in his words. 

They muttered to each other in frightened voices. “H-he has to be lying right?”

“I don’t know. Mom will get angry if she hears me getting in trouble again.”

“L-let’s get away from here! I’ll remember this Akechi!” The leader glared at Akechi before darting off with his friends.

Akechi’s heart was beating so hard, he thought it would escape from his body. If they knew he was bluffing, the situation would’ve turned out differently. Thankfully, nobody knew much about him other than he’s a loner (not by choice), so they don’t know what his personality is like. At least one good thing came out of this situation.

He looked over to the injured creature. 

It looked like a black dog, perhaps an Akita. However, the tail seems bushier and doesn’t curl up like a Shiba Inu’s. 

_‘It must be a mixed breed_.’ He thought.

It looked so fluffy. He never had a dog back home, at his institutional home or this new place. He couldn’t resist come closer and lightly touching the fur on its head. It’s thicker and rougher than his own. It’s nice. He resisted petting it any further when he felt the fox flinch at his touch and drew his hand back.

“Are you alright?” He asked the dog. The creature looked up at him with grey eyes and whined. It tried to shift and move away, but barely moved an inch. It must be tired. Akechi watched with worried eyes as the creature tried to crawl away from him.

‘ _Do I take it to the vet? Those guys might have broken something, but I don’t enough money to cover the bill if it has severe injuries.’_ He thought while frowning. ‘ _Where exactly was the vet?’_

“Hey, what are you doing down there?” A voice called out. 

He flinched before looking for the person who had just spoken. There was a lady wearing dark clothing and a short skirt, but he focus his attention on her white coat. It looked exactly the same as a doctor’s coat that he sees in tv shows! She must be a doctor!

“Please help me sensei! I found this dog and he’s hurt!” Akechi cried out.

“...I’m not a veterinarian.” She saw how desperate he looked and let out a sigh. She placed her hands in her pockets as she proceeded to walk towards him and the injured creature. She crouched down and observed the creature with narrow eyes.

“Kid, that’s not a dog. If you look at the tail, it’s bushier compared to any type of dog. It also has a white tip on its tail. Without a doubt, this creature’s a fox. You should leave it alone, it’s a wild and dangerous animal. I’ll call animal control and let them deal with it.” She stated as she stood up.

“No, he’s hurt! A bunch of kids were hitting him with rocks and he never attacked them! He’s not dangerous!” Akechi’s lip wobbled as he stared her down. He didn’t want to abandon the poor creature just because someone else said so. It deserves to be treated well too! He doesn’t know what animal control is or does, but the name sounds scary.

“I-If you d-don’t want to help, then… then I’ll find someone else!” He shouted.

She stared at him in silence for a few minutes before sighing again and rubbing her forehead. 

“What a bleeding heart. It’s going to get you into trouble someday kid.” She huffed, but crouched back down again and lifted her hand towards the creature. 

The creature stared at her with narrowed eyes as her hand was slowly approaching him and let out a low growl. “If you bite me, I won’t hesitate to knock you out.” She warned.

The fox huffed before it stopped making that noise, but it still eyed her hand in distrust. It slowly relaxed its muscles, relaxing its posture as she came closer. Perhaps it can understand her words or intentions, there was a high chance that this might be someone’s pet. She kept her thoughts to herself as she placed her hands on the creature.

Her hands moved rapidly and thoroughly during her examination. 

“No broken bones, it doesn’t look like he dislocated anything either. He was struggling to move his left leg though, so he might have sprained it...” she muttered as she lightly pressed her fingers to determine if her assessment was correct. The fox tenses when she touched his knee, letting out a soft whine. She nodded to herself as she finally finished her exam.

“Hey, kid, we need to go back to my office to get supplies to fix him up. Hurry up and carry him.” She demanded. She quietly muttered, “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” 

She stood up and started walking out of the park. Akechi carefully scooped the creature into his arms, the poor thing let off a soft cry as he picked it up. Akechi must be touching his bruises.

He frowned and tried adjusting his position to make it more comfortable for the creature. “I’m sorry. You’ll feel better soon. I promise!” 

He looked up to see she was already a few meters away from him and quickly hurried after her.

Wow, she moved so fast! He was basically running after her just to catch up to her long strides.

Luckily it seems that her office wasn’t too far from the playground. She took out her keys and opened the door, turning on the lights before letting Akechi enter the clinic first.

He looked around in the lobby while she closed and locked the entrance door before she walked towards her office. 

“Well?” She spoke in a clipped tone.

“A-ah, sorry!” He followed her into her office. She closed the door and gestured for him to sit on the chair. 

He set the creature onto the bed before taking a seat as she looked through her cabinets for the right supplies.

Akechi turned his attention towards the fox, it looked exhausted. It barely seemed to have the energy to keep its eyes open even though it doesn’t seem to trust either of them. It kept shifting its attention on both of them, tensing up when one of them moves.

“I’m going to give it a splint for its injury. Try to avoid let it walk around a lot while it has the splint on. He should recover in two to three days. If he doesn’t, you need to take him to the vet. Well, you should take him to the vet anyways to let them cut off the cast unless your parents want to do it.” She looked at him sternly.

He nodded, a bit frightened by how serious she looked.

She smiled before taking out the necessary items to start her work. He watched silently, seeing how she was in her element when she was putting the splint on the fox. He watched in awe as she made a splint and placed it under the fox’s paw to see if the splint was good enough, adjusting it a few times before she finally nodded in satisfaction. Akechi wanted to be a doctor just like her and help animals too! 

Time flew by quickly as she finally finished taping the bandages together securely around the leg and splint and sat back down again

“Do you have any questions?” She smiled as she leaned back and crossed her legs.

“What do foxes eat? Meat?” He tilted his head in question. Just because he wanted to let the fox stay with him until it recovers doesn’t mean he knew a lot about the species.

She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. 

“This is why I suggested giving him up to animal control so they can deal with him.” She muttered softly to herself.

Akechi opened his mouth to apologize, but the doctor just turned to her computer and started looking up the eating habits of foxes. She printed out a sheet of paper and gave it to him. 

“Anything else?”

The look she gave him scared him from asking anymore questions. She looked annoyed, just like the workers in the institutional homes when he wanted to ask them questions. 

“...no, thank you for everything.” He folded the paper and placed it into his pocket, then stood up to give her a deep, proper bow.

She closed her eyes and pinched her forehead again, before giving off a more neutral face. 

“No need to thank me, I barely did anything. I… wouldn’t mind examining that fox before cutting off his cast.” She said as she fixed her hair and looked away in embarrassment. 

Akechi’s eyes widen. “R-really sensei?! You don’t mind me coming by again?”

“It’s fine. I don’t like leaving a job half-finished. If he’s my patient, then I’ll treat him to a complete and healthy recovery.”

He let out a huge smile. She was so nice, even though he doesn’t have any money on him to give her. 

“Okay, thank you for helping! I’ll bring a gift the next time that I visit!” He gently picked up the fox while being mindful of its cast. It seemed to be asleep now and didn’t make a noise as he picked it up.

“There’s no need for that—” She began but Akechi ignored her as he reached for the door knob and let himself out.

“Goodbye sensei!” He gave her a wide grin before closing the door behind him and started walking home.

He might visit her more often if he sees that she doesn’t have any patients. She was the first person other than his foster parents to talk to him in this small town.

His home was on the eastern side of the playground. It took him under half an hour to reach his house. He noticed that both motorbikes were gone and felt relieved instead of sadness for the first time that his parents weren’t home. Akechi wasn’t sure how he was going to be able to explain why he’s keeping a fox in their house for an unknown amount of time. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly, the fox will recover, go back home, and his parents will never find out about this. 

_‘It’s a great plan!’_ He thought to himself as he took out the keys and softly jammed it into the keyhole, trying to be quiet and let the poor fox sleep a little longer. He quietly opened the door, closed it and took off his shoes. He’ll properly line them up when he put the creature to bed. 

Akechi took in the sight of his house, the late afternoon light filtered into the living room, making the room lit up in a gentle golden color. He walked until he got in front of his room. 

He was lucky that his house wasn’t in Tokyo. His room has enough space for a bed and a desk. If it was Tokyo, then his room would be too small for both furniture to be out at the same time. He would have had to roll out a futon to sleep at night and roll it up during the daytime so he could have room to set up a table to do his homework. This was one of the other few things he liked about this place.

He rolled the blankets back and set the fox onto his bed. The fox immediately curled into itself, adjusted its tail so it can use it as a pillow. It was an adorable sight. He let out a smile before adjusting the sheets around the fox and placing a pillow in front of it, shielding it from the door just in case if his foster parents chose to check up on him. 

After he was satisfied, he took out the sheet of paper talking about the diet of foxes out from his pocket and began reading it. 

Akechi can easily find fruits and vegetables, but rabbits and rats? He doesn’t know if he wants to purchase one from the pet store just to feed his fox. He like rabbits...but crickets and grasshoppers. Wasn’t there a spot in town where you could hunt them? He ponders for a bit before remembering. It was at that one shrine! Maybe he could head over there right now and get some!

He glanced at the creature. It seemed to be deep in slumber. Maybe it won’t notice that Akechi left the house to catch it some dinner. The sun was still up meaning that the bugs should still be active...he thinks. It doesn’t hurt to try. 

He quietly closed his door and looked around for the tools that he needed. He heard that his foster dad goes fishing a lot and bought a net and cage to catch his own bait before going fishing. So the items must be around here somewhere. He opened closets until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the items before heading out, closing and locking the door behind him. It shouldn’t take too long to go to the shrine, catch some bugs, and go home. 

That’s what he told himself, but when he got there, he was confused where to go now. The shrine was right in front of him, but where exactly do the bugs gather? Under rocks? He doesn’t want to cause trouble and accidentally ruin their property. This would also trouble his new foster parents too if the temple decided to tell them what happened. He frowned as he stood to the side of the shrine. He took cover underneath the trees, hiding from the burning sun as he looked at his surroundings.

“Hey, kid!”

Akechi jumped at the sudden voice and looked hesitantly to the person addressing him.

“...hello.” He clutch his net tighter to himself. Was he allowed to catch bugs on a shrine? Was he going to get yelled at? He should’ve asked the priest before even bringing his gear inside this place. Now he felt like an idiot for listening to the rumors without confirming them first!

The priest was young and gave him an open smile as he stood on the stone path. 

“First time trying to catch something?” 

Akechi looked at him, trying to see if he was going to get yelled at. The priest continued to look at him with curious eyes. He doesn’t seem to be angry or annoyed.

Akechi nodded.

“Ah, I was young once too! Catching bugs was the highlight of my summer days long ago, but now I’m just here working all the time! Oh I should pray to the gods about sending me back to those good old days!” The priest sighed as he lifted a hand to his forehead and leaned back, posing dramatically like he was overwhelmed by his work. 

Akechi laughed. He never saw a priest acting anything but calm and patient before. This guy was pretty funny!

“Ah! You smiled! So, do you need any tips? You’re looking at a bug catching expert! Don’t be shy!” The priest placed his hands back on his broom. Akechi didn’t even notice it until now.

“I… heard that you can catch bugs here, but I don’t know where. I haven’t done this before.” He quietly said.

“Ever?!” The priest cried out in shock. “Well we’re going to change that right now! Follow me!” 

The priest walked off the stone path and onto the dirt, heading towards the trees. Akechi looked at him and clutched his items tightly before following after him.

“Here!” They were standing in the shade between a couples of trees. Akechi could see a lot of bugs on the floor.

“They gather here pretty often during the day, but scampers off when it’s raining. You have to be quick and chose the right moment to swing to catch a lot of bugs! You see that spot right there?” The priest pointed where the most bugs congregating. “You have to aim at that spot and you’ll guarantee to at least catch one! Hmm, since it’s your first time doing this, I’ll guide you on what to do.”

“O-okay.” Akechi stuttered. The priest was so nice to take his time out of his work to help him. 

“Okay, stand right here.” The priest pointed with his broom to the spot. “Now raise your arms, your dominant hand should be closer to the net.”

Akechi stood where the priest pointed and followed his instructions. His hand were sweaty from the heat and being nervous doing this for the first time. As he raised the net high in the air, the priest nodded and smiled. He said that Akechi was going great!

“...slowly...slowly… NOW!” The priest cried out.

‘ _This is for you fox!’_ Akechi thought determinedly as he swung the net onto the ground. 

“Let’s see, let’s see. Keep your net there. We’re going to grab them while they’re in the net and transfer them directly into your cage.”

Akechi counted as they grab the insects and moved them into the cage. Four! He got four!

“Thank you mister!”

“No problem! Hopefully, the next time I see you, you will be able to catch the same amount by yourself. These bugs take a while before they return to this spot so it’s better to find another area in the meantime if you’re planning on continuing bug catching today. Well, I need to return to my work before the head priest yells at me. Ha ha. I wish you luck and farewell!”

“Bye!” Akechi waved at the priest before looking back at his goods. Akechi caught a few more insects before deeming that it was enough for the fox’s meal tonight. He has fruits and vegetables at home that he could feed the fox if it was still hungry.

Akechi left the shrine in a good mood. He found another person who doesn’t know or care about his background. Perhaps this town wasn’t so bad after all!

The fox still wasn’t awake when he got back. He put away the net but brought the cage filled with bugs into his room. He wasn’t sure where to keep them so in the end, he chose to just place them on his desk. 

  
Akechi waited impatiently for the fox to wake up. He already finished all of his homework for the summer break and he doesn’t have a lot of stuff in his room to occupy his time at the moment. The only tv they have in the house was in the living room and he wanted to be there when the creature woke up. He doesn’t know how much the animal will be able to understand him, but he was unsure how it would react after it wakes up.

What if it destroys in his room in confusion from being confined in a small area? How would he explain it to his foster parents? He could put it outside, but he would feel bad for it. The temperature outside was still very hot and they had air conditioning inside the house.

Well, there was no use thinking about it until the fox wakes up.

  
  
After debating on what to do, Akechi finally decides to read a book. There wasn’t a lot of things that he owned at his mother’s apartment, but she always knew how much he loved books, especially the one with heroes. She bought him a few books when she was alive and he always deeply cherished them even though the pages yellowed and were starting to fall apart.

His mom originally gave him a thick book filled with fairytales and happy endings. However, the books he received later changed. She wanted him to become more knowledgeable, but still have fun reading so she found stories that had a famous folklore and legend from around the world. He learned so much about the King Arthur and his group of knights, Jeanne d’ Arc and her prophet to save France. There were many others that Akechi enjoyed reading, but he loved the story about Robin Hood the most. Akechi thinks that it’s because Robin Hood wielded a bow. Most stories had the main character using a sword to fight against their enemies.

He immerses himself in the book even though he re-read the story many times already. Akechi tuned out the chirping from the crickets and read a chapter of the book before he heard something shuffling. The fox must be awake!

He marked the page he was on and ran to the bed, curious on how the fox was feeling now.

The fox was moving around, trying to stand up but the cast was making it hard for the creature.

“Ah! Don’t move around! You need to heal!” Akechi cried out as he pushed the fox back down onto the bed.

The fox looked annoyed but seemed to listen to Akechi. Its ears twitched and moved to the direction of the desk where the insects were still chirping.

Oh, Akechi forgot about them, he tuned out their sounds for the last half an hour. He hurried to the desk and picked up the cage.

“I bought you food! The paper said you eat crickets and insects! There should be some fruit in the fridge if you prefer that…”

He opened the cage and grabbed onto one before quickly closing it and shoving the bug in the fox’s snout.

“Here!” He said proudly as the bug tried to wiggle away from his grip.

The fox was gentle when he snatched the insect from his grip, his teeth grazing against Akechi’s skin but the creature didn’t apply pressure to make it feel painful. As the fox slowly chewed his meal, he looked at Akechi, silently asking for more and Akechi obliged.

Soon the creature finished everything and continued to beg Akechi for more food.

“Uh, I don’t have any more insects…” He said in a mournful voice. The fox made a sad cry which made Akechi feel worse about running out of food to give the poor creature. It didn’t take him long to remember that he could check the kitchen.

“I know we have fruits at home! I just need to check what’s in the fridge. I’ll be right back!” Akechi stood up and was about to leave, but the fox whined as it tried to stand back up.

“Do you want to come along?” Akechi asked.

The fox stopped whining and gave a slight nod.

“But the doctor said you shouldn’t walk with the cast and walking down the stairs would be difficult. Can I carry you?” He asked the fox. He wasn’t sure if it can understand him but he has to try. He doesn’t want it to bite him because he made it uncomfortable. The fox nodded like it understood him which made him sigh in relief.

Akechi smiled and wrapped his arms around the fox and lifted him. The fox looked at everything in curiosity as Akechi left his room and climbed downstairs to the living room. He set the creature down after they got to the kitchen and opened the fridge. The fox peeked his head in as soon as the door opened.

“Hey, hey! I’ll grab the food for you.” Akechi softly pushed the fox’s head out of the way so he had more room to look around the fridge himself. The fox made a sound before relenting to Akechi.

“Peach?” He asked the fox as he held the fruit to the fox’s snout. The fox sniffed and was about to snatch it out of his hand before he managed to pull back in time.

“No! It needs to be washed first! Then I’ll cut it up and we’ll share, okay?” Akechi said as he moved towards the sink. The fox gave another whine and Akechi refused to budge. His mother had always told him to clean his fruits and veggies before eating them.

He slowly cut the peach into eight small pieces before breaking one off from the pit. He gave the piece to the fox to see the piece quickly vanished from his fingers and into the fox’s mouth.

Akechi laughed before removing another piece and chewing it. It was very sweet and juicy. He barely started chewing on it before seeing the fox opening its mouth eagerly, ready for the next one. He smiled as he finished his piece. He slowly removed another piece from the pit and was about to give it to the fox before throwing it into his own mouth. The fox watched in disappointment as Akechi’s chewed on the third piece and let out a whine. The creature nudge Akechi’s chest with its snout. He laughed at the fox’s dramatics and gave it the rest, removing the pit first and spreading his hand out so the fox could eat the rest. He let a soft smile as the fox gently took the food and waited until the fox took the last piece before throwing the pit into the trash.

“What should we do now?” He glanced at the clock to see that it was almost seven and frowned. “Suzuki-san should be coming home soon. We should go back to our room before she notices you. I should bring you a water bowl just in case you get thirsty…” he murmured.

The fox scratched the floor with his front paw before looking up at Akechi. Akechi was confused on what it was doing. It kept lightly scratching its front paws on the floor and looking at him. Then it squatted, like it was ready to…

“Oh…oh! You need to go to the restroom right?” Akechi opened his arms, slowly approaching him. The creature doesn’t seem to enjoy being picked up so Akechi took his time making the creature feel comfortable in his arms before heading to the door leading to the backyard. He opened the door and let the fox down next to the furthest tree in their property. He doesn’t want his foster parents to think that there was an animal somehow sneaking in and getting into their backyard. Hopefully, they won’t go that far into the backyard.

Akechi walked a few meters away, giving the fox some space. The fox struggled but managed to get behind the tree after getting use to only having three functional legs to walk on. As Akechi watches the fox wandering behind the trees, he wonders what he should do tomorrow. He doesn’t want to stay home all day, but it’s not a good idea for the fox to be at home all alone all day. Oh, he should take the time to buy the doctor a present. But what? A pen? Was that enough to show his gratitude towards the doctor for helping him out?

The fox let out a soft cry, interrupting Akechi’s thought process. He looked up to see the fox standing in the original location that Akechi placed it.

“…are you done?” He wanted to confirm before dragging the fox back inside the house.

The fox let out a bark and waited for him, its tail wagging slightly as Akechi walks up to the creature. Akechi hopes that the creature was saying yes to the question. Well, the fox was very vocal and would probably whine if it had an issue when Akechi picked it up.

The fox didn’t make any noise. It only shifted to get more comfortable before remaining still in his hands. Akechi head back upstairs and placed the fox back into the bed. He opened his cabinet and took out his nightclothes, ready to take his daily shower before telling the fox, “I’m going to shower. Let me set my clothes inside the bathroom and I’ll come back for you. We can save water by showering together!”

The fox whined and shook its head. It doesn’t look like it was interested in going to the bathroom or showering.

“You smell!” Akechi complained as he walked out of his room. He could hear a soft cry from the fox and smiled at the creature’s reaction.

It was pretty cute.

He placed his clothes in a basket in the bathroom and walked back to his room to scoop up the fox. The fox tried to get away but he was too slow due to his injured leg.

“Come now or I won’t let you sleep on the bed. Maybe I should wash my sheets since I let you sleep this afternoon.” Akechi murmured as he unconsciously petted the fox’s head.

He placed the fox on the bath stool and closed the bathroom door. He stripped and placed his dirty clothes into another empty basket. The fox tried to leave while he was changing but struggled to open the door. Its paws couldn’t twist the lock opened and it whined when it was unsuccessful after a minute fiddling with it making Akechi laugh. He grabbed the fox and placed him on the stool once again and closed the shower door behind him.

“Sit still Mr. Fox. We don’t want sensei to get mad because we got your cast wet.”

The fox whined and gave him a dirty look as Akechi turned on the shower head and waited until the water warmed up. It took a few seconds and he angled the water to avoid the cast. The fox made loud aggravated noises, but didn’t move a muscle. When Akechi was done, he put plenty of shampoo in his hands and scrub the fox down as best as he could. He decided to leave the head alone because he doesn’t want to accidentally get soap into its eyes. After he deemed that the fox was thoroughly covered in soap, he gently washed it away and set the fox to sit on top of the bathtub as he started his own shower.

The fox shook itself from the excess water sticking onto its fur as Akechi showered, keeping the water away from the fox.

Akechi quickly finished his shower and turned off the water before opening the shower door to grab some towels. He placed the towel on the fox and wiped him down to the best of his abilities then proceeded to do the same for himself. Usually he wouldn’t use the hair dryer during this hot weather since it helps keep him cool a little bit longer, but the fox definitely needs it before it is allowed on his bed. He doesn’t want his bed to be drenched with water.

“Goro? I’m back! When you’re down showering, please set up the table and we can eat together.” His foster mom said after lightly knocking on the bathroom door.

“O-oh!” Akechi took such a long time in the bathroom that he forgot about his foster mom. Now that he’s looking at the clock in the bathroom, Akechi notices that she’s home a little later than normal.

‘ _She must have stopped by the supermarket to get groceries.’_ He thought.

“Thank you! I’ll be right down after I dry my hair.” Akechi said as he started cleaning the bathroom. After he cleaned the shower drain, he put on his casual clothes.

He looked in the cabinets for the hair dryer and put it on the lowest setting. He hopes that the sound won’t freak the creature out as he grabbed the fox and placed him next to the hair dryer. The fox gave the hair dryer a curious look as it took a sniff at the item.

He smiled as he saw the fox lightly poked it with its paw and he slowly picked the dryer up and turned it on. The sound made the creature jerked back in surprise as it chatters.

“You want to get dry as soon as possible right? Just ignore the sound for a few minutes and it will be okay.” Akechi said as he moved the hair dryer around the fox, never lingering too long in a specific area just in case it gets too hot for the creature. When he finally deems the fox dry, he starts doing his own hair. Akechi blasted the dryer at the max setting, not having the same amount of patience as he did when he was drying off the fox. It took a lot faster to dry his hair compared to the fox and he neatly put it away into the cabinet after he was finished.

He picked up the fox and the wet towels and opened the bathroom door to return back to his room. He dropped the used towels into his laundry basket and laid the fox on top of the bed.

“I’ll be right back. I’m going to go eat dinner now.” Akechi said as he pet the fox’s head before placing a pillow between the fox and the door and running out of his room to go help Suzuki set up the table.

“Sorry for the wait!” Akechi said as he ran to the kitchen and grab the necessary utensils for him and his foster mother.

Suzuki giggles. “Didn’t I tell you that there’s no running in the house? It’s fine. I just finished preparing everything.” She hands him the dishes and allows him carry them out. He felt happy that he was helping her with things around the house.

It was at these moments that he didn’t feel like a burden.

They ate dinner and Suzuki spent most of the time talking about her day as Akechi nodded and listen quietly. When she asked how his day went, Akechi didn’t want to talk about the fox hidden inside of his room. He doesn’t know if his foster parents like animals and this wasn’t going to be a permanent thing anyways. After the fox was healed, it was going to go back to its home…leaving Akechi all alone.

Akechi smiled as he replied to her question. “Not much. I just spent the day exploring the town. I visited the shrine today. It looks very peaceful.”

The topic made his foster mother excited. She started telling him about the festivals that were hosted there and how fun it was. She grinned at him and said that she was happy that he was going to be joining them this year and they should all dress up and wear kimono. Her enthusiasm rubbed off on Akechi and he couldn’t help but to smile up at her.

“It’s a promise Goro!” Suzuki said as she cleaned up the dishes. He nodded as he stood beside her on a chair, drying the plates and putting them away.

They both said goodnight to each other and he went to his room and closed the door. He listened closely to the sounds outside his room. It sounds like she went to her bedroom to grab clean clothes before heading to the bathroom. He sighed in relief as he heard the bathroom door closing and the shower turning on. It doesn’t look like she suspected anything was off from Akechi. Thank goodness.

The fox sleepily peeked his head over the pillow and gave a small yip.

“Suzuki-san doesn’t know that you’re here! Please stay quiet.” Akechi whispered as he placed his finger on his lips to try and shush the creature. The creature tilts its head before curling up again.

It was only nine right now. Akechi usually sleeps by ten, sometimes eleven if he get invested in something and forgets the time. He was in the middle of re-reading his book and wondered if he should read by his desk or in bed? The bed looks very tempting and the fox looks extra fluffy after the shower. So far, it looks like the fox is well behave even though it likes to complain a lot.

He gives into temptation. He grabbed his book and climbed into bed. He flipped to the last page that he was on and slowly pet the fox’s head. The fox felt better now that it’s not dirty anymore. The fox tensed up when his hand made contact and Akechi jerked his hand back. It’s not a typical pet and it might not appreciate the pets like dogs do. The fox let out a small whined and leaned into Akechi’s hand.

It was nice.

The fox turned its head to sniff his book. It looked very concentrated at the book and Akechi wondered if the creature was interested in the story.

“Do you want me to read this story to you Mr. Fox?” Akechi asked. The fox stared into his eyes before nodding.

He flipped to the beginning of the book and spoke out in a clear, loud voice.

“Once upon a time…”

They got through a few chapters together. The fox kept switching his gaze from Akechi and the book. It made him feel happy by close to someone or something else. He could feel that his eyes were getting tired as he tried to get through this specific paragraph and hid a yawn.

“Let’s go to sleep Mr. Fox.” Akechi said as he gave up read the paragraph. He got up to put the book away and turn off the lights. He returned to his bed and snuggled underneath the sheets. He avoided touching the fox since it seems to be timid of his touches. He didn’t want to startled the creature in the middle of the dark and accidentally get bitten for it.

_‘It turned out to be a good day today._ ’ He thought. He smiled as he feel the creature’s warmth next to his head and hear its breathing as the sound lulls him to sleep.

The next morning, Akechi woke up to see the fox curled next to him, its tail was covering its face as it slept. It was seven in the morning, meaning that Suzuki has already left for work and her husband, Takashi, will be home in half an hour.

“Good morning Mr. Fox. Do you need to go to the restroom now?” He asked while gently petting it. Its ears twitch before it lifted its head and yawned. It seemed confused for a second. Its eyes were dazed before it finally nodded.

“Takashi-san will be home soon, so you’ll have to be outside for a bit.” Akechi tells the fox as he gathered the creature in his arms. The fox calmly watched as it was carried down the stairs and through the backyard. Akechi led it back to the same tree and let the fox down carefully.

“Takashi-san usually stays downstairs to watch the tv for an hour or two after he eats breakfast. I’ll catch more crickets for you in the meantime.”

The fox whined as it stood up on its hind leg. Its front paws were on Akechi’s chest as it placed its head close to Akechi’s, gazing deep into his eyes. It seems like it wanted to go along with Akechi into town. Akechi wasn’t sure how the townspeople will react to a fox running around. But the fox looked so sad.

“I’ll show you around town after we take off your cast.” Akechi frowned as he pet the creature’s head.

‘ _That way, you can run away fast if someone decides to pick on you again.’_ Akechi thought.

The fox whined again before it saw that Akechi wasn’t going to budge on this issue. It climb off of Akechi and bit into his pajama pants and pulled.

“W-woah!” The fox didn’t grab his leg, just his pants, so the action didn’t hurt. It just surprised Akechi.

The fox let go before walking towards the trees and turned to glare at him.

Akechi stared at the grumpy fox as it went behind the trees and looked at his ripped pants.

“It’s so overdramatic.” He sighed as he think of what he should do with these pants now.

He went inside the house and close the door behind him. Akechi looked at the dining table to see that Suzuki-san has made breakfast and wrapped it so it would remain warm longer. How does she make time to do this before going to work? She’s so amazing. Maybe one day he can gather the courage to ask if she was willing to teach him on how to cook.

“I’m home. For such a small town, the hospital always seem to be busy.” His foster dad announced as he took off his shoes.

“Welcome home Takashi-san.” Akechi ran up to him and bowed at him.

“Didn’t I say you don’t have to be that formal? You’re making me feel old Goro-kun.” Takashi winked as he walked into the dining room.

“A-ah. I’m sorry.” Akechi doesn’t want to stop. He was told that kids who were well behaved were worth keeping.

“Did you have a fight with a dog or something? Your pants has holes at the bottom.” Takashi’s eyes turned serious as he stared at Akechi. “Do you need bandages and something to disinfect the wound? It doesn’t look deep if it’s not bleeding onto your pants.”

“Ah…ha ha ha.” Akechi raised his pant leg to show his flawless skin. “The pant leg got stuck to a bush when I was in the backyard. No injuries here. Ha ha.” He felt bad for lying, but he wasn’t sure how to tell Takashi-san about his moody fox?

Takashi inspected the leg for a few second before deeming it okay. “That’s good. I would be worried if something got through or under our fence. Now what did dear Suzuki make for food today?” He peered at the table and clapped his hands. “Omurice?! Suzuki-chwan~! I wish I could kiss you right now. How did you know that I was craving that dish?”

He eagerly went into the kitchen to grab utensils and placed them by his and Akechi’s plates.

“A-ah!” ‘ _I should’ve gotten the spoons.’_ Akechi thought as he watched Takashi said his thanks and dig into the dish, moaning in delight at the taste.

Akechi also dig in and it did tasted wonderful. All of Suzuki’s dish felt delicious. He wants to be able to cook one day like her.

It wasn’t long before they finished eating. Akechi quickly took their plates and utensils and placed them in the sink, getting ready to wash them.

Takashi stood next to him, towel ready to dry the plates. Akechi looked surprised and cried out, “T-Takashi-san! It’s alright! I can take care of drying the dishes too!”

Takashi lightly tapped the side of Akechi’s head as he chuckled.

“What kind of parent am I if I allow my child to take care of everything in this household? We’re a family. We all contribute something to this family. I never thanked you for helping out did I? Thank you for cleaning the house. I would’ve said it earlier, but you always run to your room so quickly.” Takashi smiled as he looked at him.

Akechi felt his cheeks turned red.

This was the first time since his mother passed away that another person has thanked him for something. When he was first fostered by the couple, he was worried if they were being genuine with their smiles and their soft presence. They were nice, but he waited for the other shoe to drop. Will they remain the same after he lives in their house for a few days? A week? He waited, never allowing himself to be relaxed. In the end, nothing ever happened in the past two weeks. He was given his own room and space to adjust to the new environment. When he made mistakes, they help him fix them without yelling or punishing him first.

Akechi can finally see it now. They care about him. He felt like tearing up in front of Takashi, but that might be an extreme reaction. So he just concentrated on the warm feeling in his chest as he replied with “you’re welcome.”

He listened and nodded along when Takashi started telling funny stories about his patients. A patient stuff an egg up their… their what?

Takashi stopped in the middle of the story and muttered that maybe _that_ story was inappropriate for kids and switched to a different patient. Akechi pouted. Where did they stuff the egg? In their mouth right? Did they accidentally swallow it whole and it wasn’t digesting properly? Akechi was so curious on this patient now. Maybe he’ll ask Suzuki-san if she knows this story.

The rest of breakfast was filled with Akechi’s and Takashi’s laughter. It was peaceful.

Later he changed out of his pajamas and grabbed the net and cage. He told Takashi that he wanted to capture some bugs. Takashi laughed and told him to have a safe trip. The warm feeling came once again as Akechi waved frantically before putting on his shoes and leaving the house.

He dashed to the shrine, trying to expel all of this excess energy. He held the net and cage in front of him as he ran into the busy side of town. He didn’t feel tired at all as he ran for a while. Akechi finally slowed down when he got to the shopping district. It gets busy during the day and he doesn’t want to accidentally bump into anyone by accident.

When he stood in front of the shrine, he paused. Now would be the best time to buy a gift to Takemi-sensei wouldn’t it? The crickets might make too much noise if he plans on capturing them first before entering the stores. That’s would be disruptive and be considered rude right?

Akechi nodded as he looked at the shops around him. There was a few restaurants around here. There were also a textile shop, liquor store, and a hobby store. He doesn’t think Takemi would appreciate any kind of gifts from these stores.

He wandered to the south side of the shipping district. He wonders why there’s a metalwork shop here. There was a display of a samurai armor in front of the shop to show the quality of the blacksmith’s craftsmanship. He wonders who would buy armors and weapons nowadays but chose to continue searching. He finally stood in front of a bookstore. It seemed like an acceptable choice as a gift. He nodded as he glanced at the books that they were promoting.

“Welcome!”

Akechi jerked in surprise.

“H-hello.” He said quietly as he clutch the net and cage closer to himself.

“Do you need help with anything? I can recommend you something if there’s a genre that you like.” The lady said as she smiled at him.

“I-I…I came to buy a book for someone.” Akechi said softly.

“That’s sweet! Do you know what that person likes?” She asked as she stood close to him.

“I…I don’t know.” Akechi sighed in defeat. Going into here without even a clue of what Takemi-sensei likes might have been a poor plan.

“It’s not a problem, may I ask who this gift is for? I know a lot of people!”

“It’s Takemi-sensei.”

“Ah! Takemi-sensei I see. She’s so serious all the time. I bet she would appreciate a book that’s light hearted. Do you think so too?”

Akechi doesn’t know. It sounds logical? “I-I guess?”

“Let’s go then, I have a few books on top of my head that she might like.” She led him to a corner of the bookstore and picking out three books. Akechi looked at the covers and read the summaries of each book. He finally decided to pick the book about a young herbalist who goes from town to town, learning about each community as she stayed in the town for a few days. She originally wanted to learn more about herbs, hoping to find the rare ones, and planting them in her own backyard and treating the rare diseases in her hometown. She sometimes goes to a poor town and heal their citizens for free, attracting unwanted attention.

The main character reminded Akechi of Takemi-sensei. She might look grumpy, but she helped him without asking for payment. He hopes that she likes this book. Maybe he should also buy one for himself later on because the summary was so intriguing.

He bought it and watch as the lady placed the book in a paper bag, taping it up all neatly, then putting it in a plastic bag. He thanked her as he put the bag around his wrist and continued his journey to the shine.

Akechi hesitantly walked past the shrine gates, looking around to see if someone was going to yell at him. Even though one priest was okay with it doesn’t mean that everyone going to be as tolerant. When he didn’t hear anyone yelling at him, he crept up to the secret spot that the monk showed him last time and he was amazed at what he saw. The bugs really did crawl back to that specific area. He was excited. He will catch a lot for the fox!

He raised his net slowly over his head, aiming at the spot. He tried his best to remember the instructions that the priest gave him.

‘ _Now!’_ Akechi thought as he brought the net quickly onto the ground. The insects quickly scattered and Akechi opened his cage and transferred the bugs he captured into the cage. He counted the bugs as he drop them into the cage. One, two, three! He caught three by himself! Akechi grinned as he went to other shady spots and captured more bugs.

As he walked out of the shine, he saw the priest from yesterday. He waved at the man eagerly. The priest noticed, smiled, and waved back.

He could feel his spirits rise as he saw the priest continued walking into another part of the shrine.

All of this time, he only needed to go outside and talk to people. He shouldn’t have assumed that everyone will believe the rumors and try to avoid him. He just needs to try and find them. Maybe there were also kids who didn’t believe the rumors, but were too shy to approach him! When summer break is over, he’ll try to make friends with some of the kids from his school! With optimism, Akechi walks back home with his loot in his arms.

When he arrives back home, Takashi wasn’t watching the tv anymore. He could hear a faint sound coming from upstairs. The same sound kept repeating itself every few seconds. Takashi must be snoring again. Akechi giggles as he went out to the backyard. He doesn’t see the fox as he glanced out there. It was good at hiding.

He put the net and Takemi’s gift down before going outside. He closed the door behind him before calling out to the fox. “Mr. Fox, I caught breakfast!”

He immediately heard the bushes rustle before the fox poked its head out. It let out a cry before limping towards him. It doesn’t look like it’s in pain anymore, but Akechi wants to remain careful with the leg and wait another day before going to Takemi-sensei.

Akechi walked up to the creature, crouched down, opened the cage, and grabbed a cricket.

“Sorry for the wait. I stopped along the way to buy something for Takemi-sensei.” He said as he held out the insect for the fox to inspect. As the fox ate all of the insects, Akechi told him about his day. The fox’s tail wagged as it chewed the food and looked at him.

“Are you still hungry?”

The fox nodded its head as it licks its snout.

“There should be more fruit in the fridge…Oh! You also need to drink water!” Akechi went back into the house while carrying the creature with him. He pulled out a bowl and filled it with water. He put the bowl in the ground for the fox before going into the fridge and looked around for fruits.

_‘Hopefully an apple and another peach is good enough?_ ’ He thought as he pulled them out and carried them to the sink.

He washed them as the fox watched him impatiently. He laughed and grabbed a knife and heads towards the living room. Since the fox was still injured, it was better to stay at home and let it recover. The fox watched him past it in confusion and yipped as it followed him.

“This is the tv! Let’s watch something since you should be resting right now.” Akechi said while he switched the tv on. There was an old episode of Featherman being played at the moment.

“This is my favorite show! The story is being taken place in …” Akechi started ranting about the show to the fox. The fox made noises when Akechi got excited and used sound effects and hand gestures to explain the storyline. When it came to certain scenes, Akechi spent a lot of time explaining the background on why the scenes were important. The fox didn’t seem to mind at all as it listened and watched Akechi enthusiastically gestures as he talks.

It felt nice.

They spent the whole afternoon watching Featherman and Akechi was able to pet the fox without it flinching.

* * *

When it was around five, Akechi turned off the tv. He let the fox out again just in case it need to do its business before carrying the fox back to his room. Takashi should be awake soon and be getting ready to go to work. He carefully carried the fox back inside and quietly climb the stairs. The fox curled closer as Akechi walked. He couldn’t help but smile and pet the creature’s head as he walked towards his room.

He set the fox on his bed before closing the door gently behind him.

“Would you like more insects? I think they should all be gathering at that one spot again.” He asked as his hand remained on the door handle.

The fox tilts its head before shaking its head.

Akechi frowned. It might be tired of eating the same thing two days in a row. Maybe he could let it look inside fridge to see if it wants anything. They just have to wait until Takashi leaves then they can head back downstairs.

They heard a door opening and light footsteps going past their door to the bathroom.

“We can read while we wait for Takashi-san to leave for work!”

Akechi changed into his home clothes before grabbing the book and crawled under the sheets. The fox did the same until he could only see its head peek out. He shuffled his body until he put himself between the creature and the door. Hopefully it was enough that Takashi wouldn’t see it if he chose to peek his head in.

They managed to read a few page before Takashi finished his shower and knocked gently on the door.

“Hey, I’m going to go to work. Stay safe okay?”

“Stay.” Akechi whispered as he placed the pillow in front of the fox and pulled the blanket over the fox’s head.

He usually says goodbye without opening the door, but this time, this time he will finally open it to say goodbye face-to-face. He doesn’t need to avoid him anymore. Takashi thanked him earlier today for helping around the house and smiled at him! He must like Akechi!

He opened the door as Takashi was walking away.

“H-have a nice day!” He stammered.

Takashi turned around and smiled. “Thanks. See you in the morning Goro-kun.” He walked towards Akechi and ruffled his hair before leaving. He lightly touched the spot where Takashi placed his hand and smiled.

He waited he could hear the front door opening and closing before going back to his room.

He called out to the fox. “Mr. Fox! Do you want to continue reading or eat now?”

The fox poked its head out and licked its snout.

Akechi laughed. “Food it is!”

He carried the creature downstairs and headed to the fridge. After he opened the fridge, he told the fox, “point to the item you want and I’ll get it for you.” The creature leaned forward, sniffing at everything before making a chirping noise. It pointed to the eggs and looked at Akechi in excitement, the tip of its tail moving restlessly as the creature whined.

“Yes, I’ll get you one, anything else?”

It went back to sniffing the items before pointing to a package of ground meat. It seems like Suzuki-san was planning on making hamburger steak soon. Maybe he can use a small portion of it to feed the fox.

“Okay, just a small portion though.”

The fox nodded and turned its head to lick Akechi’s cheek. That seems to be all that it wants to eat for tonight.

He put down the fox and grabbed two eggs and the ground meat. He put the eggs in a large bowl and gave it to the fox. The fox immediately grabbed one and broke the shell without spilling anything. As the creature slurped up its meal, Akechi slowly and gently opened the plastic wrap of the ground meat. He placed the package on the table and found a knife and cut a small sliver of the meat. It was maybe half a centimeter thick and he also placed it in the bowl before wrapping the rest of it up and putting it back in the fridge at the same exact spot.

The fox finished its first egg and started digging into the meat. Akechi smiled as he watched the fox eat with enthusiasm. It finished its meal quickly, licking the bowl before looking back up at Akechi.

“All done?” Akechi touched the bowl, not grabbing it yet. The fox tilts its head before nodding. 

After everything was cleaned up and put away. They headed outside so the fox could do its business before heading towards his bedroom again. They read a few more pages together before they heard Suzuki’s voice announcing that she’s home.

“Ah, Suzuki-san is home. I’ll be back in an hour or two. I’m going to help her cook today!” Akechi said before petting the fox and leaving the room. He ran downstairs to meet up with Suzuki, who was in the middle of taking off her shoes.

“W-welcome back! Sorry, I was in my room earlier.” He apologize for not greeting her at the door.

“It’s fine. You’re here now.” The smile that she gave him was reassuring. “How do you feel about hamburger steak tonight?”

Akechi nodded shyly. It was one of his favorite meals.

“You can just watch tv until I’m done cooking.” She smiled as she put on an apron.

“No, I want to help!” He declared in a loud voice.

She blinked a few times. Her mouth was opened before she smiled at him.

“You’re so sweet. Sure I don’t mind helping hand. Let’s make it together.” She said as she grabbed another apron for him. It was long. It reached his shins when he put it on.

She opened the recipe book and showed him how to weigh the ingredients on the scale. She watched as he slowly poured the salt on top of the meat. She nodded before taking out an onion and chopping it finely. She placed it on a pan and sautéed it while Akechi weighed the nutmeg and panko. It felt nice being useful to someone else.

They cooked together and Akechi watched as she made the patties and placed them inside a pan. Watching the meat turn from pink to dark brown, smelling the food in the air, Akechi’s mouth started salivating and his stomach started rumbling. Akechi blushed as Suzuki-san heard it and laughed.

They ate and Suzuki talked about her day again. When it was his turn to speak, Akechi talked about catching insects. Suzuki’s nose scrunched up. Akechi cut off his words, worried if he offended her. When she noticed that he stopped talking and looked concern at her, she hastily explained herself.

“Takashi would enjoy taking you to go hunting for insects and fishing. I don’t join him during those times. I can’t stand bugs!” She shivers in disgust as she imagined a bug in front of her.

Akechi laughed at her reaction causing her to laugh along too.

He can’t wait until Takashi is free so all of them can have meals together as a complete family.

* * *

As they cleaned up and headed upstairs together. She patted his head and thanked him for helping her cook dinner. They said their goodnights and he watched as she went to her room while smiling. Both of them rubbed his head in the same area. He then remembered about the fox and quickly returned to his room.

“I’m back Mr. Fox.” Preparing, cook, eating the meal, and cleaning took close to two hours. There’s a chance the fox might be asleep already. If so, then Akechi will read another book before turning in for the night. The fox poked its head out, its eyes half dazed.

“Do you want to continue the story or sleep? I can read something else.” Akechi said. The fox nudge the book on the bed as it stared at Akechi.

“Ha ha. Okay, Robin Hood it is!”

They read two chapters before he noticed that the fox drifted off to sleep again. He petted the fox and climbed off the bed. He still needs to take a shower and grabbed the necessary items before heading to take a shower.

He wonders if he should visit Takemi in the morning or the afternoon. It would be nicer to just take one trip, but he felt bad for ditching Takashi for breakfast. He could tell that the fox was feeling restless from sitting still for so long so he would rather not let the fox suffer any longer.

Maybe he could leave the fox outside his house while he eat breakfast. His house had a lot of trees surrounding it so the fox could hide until Akechi was finished. He smiled as he fell asleep, patting himself in the back for making such a good plan. Both of them will get what they want.

The next morning, the plan went off successfully. The fox nodded to his idea and he found a nice area for the fox to relax. He watched tv but unfortunately there wasn’t anything good on at the moment. When Takashi came home, they ate and he told Akechi more about his other co-workers. All of them sounded nice and smart. He wonders if Takemi-sensei ever worked there before and if they knew her. He kept his thoughts to himself as he listened.

They cleaned up together and Akechi got ready to leave. He grabbed his gift and told Takashi that he will wants to explore more around the flood plains. They said their goodbyes and Akechi went to go look for the fox. Together they went to Takemi’s clinic.

* * *

Takemi-sensei carefully cut the cast as Akechi pet the fox’s head, hoping to distract it from the sharp object coming closer to its leg. The creature watched Takemi with cautious eyes but allowed her to step closer.

“There. All done. Now don’t get into trouble again.” Takemi tapped the fox’s nose before throwing away the cast. The fox jerked back from the doctor and looked at Akechi in confusion. Akechi just laughed and rubbed its cheeks.

The fox stretched its legs and jumped down from the bed… then started running around in the office. Akechi was happy that it was having fun, but he could tell on Takemi’s face that she wasn’t appreciating a flying furry animal as she trying to walk back to her seat.

Akechi said hesitantly, “…ah. Mr. Fox… maybe you should—“.

“If you continue to run around, I won’t hesitate to knock you out.” Takemi said in a flat tone of voice.

The fox stopped immediately and looked at her with guarded eyes. It walked back and hid behind Akechi’s legs with only its head peeking out. And did it just stick its tongue out at her? Akechi must have imagined it because the tongue disappeared after he blinked.

“Keep that creature under control. Who knows how people might react to a fox running around town. Well, have a good day and I hope to see you next time only for _human_ related issues.” She said as she opened the door for them.

“Ah! I have something for you!” Akechi almost forgot! He handed her the gift. He hopes she likes it.

“You didn’t have to get me anything. I didn’t do much.” She said as she took the gift and opened it up. She stared at it for a moment and patted his head.

“Thanks.” Her lips twitched upwards as she saw how tensed he looked. “The book looks interesting.”

Akechi let out a breath of relief. She likes it!

“Thank you! I’ll never forget your kindness Takemi-sensei! Let’s go Mr. Fox.” Akechi waved at her as he left. The fox stared at her for a good few seconds before bowing and running off after him.

They went to the Samegawa Flood Plain since not a lot of people go there and the fox was so fast at running. The whole time it kept running around him and nipping at his feet before jumping backwards and running off again. It seems to be very devious especially since there’s no cast to hinder its movement anymore.

Akechi smiled as he watched the fox sniffed at everything and if it was interesting to the creature, try to give the item to Akechi. It seems that kids dropped a lot of stuff around the area and the fox was eager to find them and give them to Akechi. He’s not sure what he would use a hair bow or an Ayumi Hamazaki button for, but he kept them anyways since the fox was wagging its tail as it watched Akechi.

The fox even found him a long stick, similar to the one he was playing with a few days ago when he found the fox. He started drawing in the dirt, looking at the fox from time to time to make his drawing accurate. When the fox noticed what he was doing stood in front of him and started preening its fur and posing for him. He laughed as he continued.

“I’m done! It looks just like you Mr. Fox!” He said as he stood up and observe the picture.

The fox stood by his side to stare. It shook its head frantically. It turned around and started to bury the picture with its hind legs.

“Hey!” It was too late. The picture was ruined. The fox smiled in satisfaction before running off again.

Akechi pouted as he watched the fox stopped suddenly and listened to something. It then jumped into the bushes, leaving only its tail and hind legs to stick out. Akechi walked up quietly and tugged on its tail before running off. He could hear the creature let out a surprised shriek before abandoning whatever it was looking for to chase after Akechi.

It didn’t take long for the creature to catch up to Akechi’s small legs. When it caught up, it jumped onto his back before using his body as a springboard. Akechi was caught off guard and tripped over his feet. He was lucky that he didn’t manage to fall over.

He glared at the fox as it crackled with laughter. It was an ugly sound, but it brought a smile to Akechi’s face.

He’s not going to let the fox get the last laugh! He ran up to the fox and picked it up by the stomach and kept running as the fox yelped and whined in his arms. Its legs were dangling awkwardly since Akechi didn’t bother supporting its legs. Take that!

They spend the whole day playing and enjoying each other’s company.

Alas, it must come to an end. Akechi felt his stomach grumble and wondered what he should eat for lunch. He should treat the fox to something from the town before the fox goes home.

Akechi thought hard on what he could give the fox. He thought long and hard, tilting his head as he laid his hand on his chin.

‘ _…!! Meat skewers!’_

One of the shops sells hand held food and specializes in meat skewers. They only add salt as their seasoning so it should be okay for the fox to eat and it always smelled delicious when he walked past the shop.

“Mr. Fox. Let’s grab some lunch! I think you’ll like this place”

The fox licks its chops as it stared at Akechi.

They had a great time eating the meat. The owner gave the fox a weird look but gave the skewers to Akechi without any issue. It finished the food so quickly and jumped to steal some of Akechi’s food. Luckily, Akechi understand the fox’s devious personality from the past few days that he was prepared for the move and moved his hand just enough that the fox missed its target. The fox whined when it wasn’t able to grab the meat skewer and looked at him with those soft grey eyes.

Nope, nope! Akechi won’t fall for that. He grinned as he chomped on the last bit of meat and threw away the trash as the fox let out a sad cry.

Today has really been a fun day, but eventually they had to go in their separate ways.

* * *

Akechi walked to the base of the mountain, looking at the forest. He turned and got on his knees as he gave the fox a tight hug.

“I’ll miss you Mr. Fox! Please come back and visit!” He buried his face into the fox’s fur and let the tears fall down. These past few days felt like a dream. He wished it never ended but the fox has to go back to where it belongs.

The fox nuzzled the side of his head before licking his cheek. Akechi let go of the fox and rubbed the saliva from his cheek. “Gross! Maybe I should’ve brushed your teeth before letting you go back.” Akechi chuckled as he took a step back.

The fox stared at the forest for a good minute without moving.

“Mr. Fox?” Akechi said hesitantly.

The fox jerked and shook its head. It turned back to Akechi and bit his shoe.

“Hey!”

The fox quickly ran into the forest. Akechi could hear the ugly crackle as it disappeared behind the trees. He wiped his tears as he bid the fox farewell.

* * *

The fox visited him a few times a week.

It was pretty interesting; it somehow manages to get into their backyard in the middle of the night and scratched on the glass door until Akechi opens it. He was so surprised the first time he saw the creature sitting in front of the glass, waiting for him.

They usually hang out by the Samegawa Flood Plain. The fox likes going to the riverbed to stare at the fish. It looked ready to pounce the first time Akechi showed it where the fishing area was. Akechi barely managed to hold the creature back, not wanting to deal with a wet smelly fox afterwards. The fox made sad noises when Akechi called him out on it. This turned out to be the best summer vacation ever!

On the last day, Akechi walked with the fox and showed it where his school was. He didn’t want the fox to think that he was ignoring the creature or moved away after today.

It was shocking the first time he saw the creature. It hid inside the bushes during school hours and barked to get his attention when he was leaving the school grounds. His school mates were scared and frantically ran away when they head the fox’s deep growls coming from the bushes. Those kids might have been the same people who bullied the fox back then.

It was such a mischievous fox.

It felt like everything was perfect. Akechi wasn’t alone anymore. He had adults who care about him and a friend to hang out with.

It can’t get any better than this!

* * *

All schools in Inaba go camping in the mountains during the summer time. The teachers called it camping, but it was really to clean up the area. The high school students go first to thoroughly clean the area and do the heavy work. The middle and elementary school usually switch on who goes next.

Akechi looked outside the bus as it went deeper and deeper into the forest. He was so lucky to get the window seat. He was leaning so close that his cheek almost touched the window whenever there’s a bump in the road.

When the bus slowed down to do a sharp turn, he noticed that there was a rope with white tags deep into the forest. He narrowed his eyes, he wondered why it was there.

“Hey.” He nudged the kid next to him. Makoto is quiet, nice kid. He likes to keep to himself and listens to music underneath a tree so Akechi would sit around him if he wants to have company for that day. He doesn’t mind that Akechi hangs around him during their free time, but he always goes straight home when school ends unless he has cleaning duty.

“What’s that for?” Akechi asked as he pointed at the rope.

Makoto blinked his eyes slowly and leaned towards the window. He was trying to see what Akechi was pointing at.

“…ah. That’s the forbidden area.” He says as he adjusted his headphones.

“Hm?”

“A lot of the forest has been warded off from the public by our temple. They said that supernatural creatures live past that rope.”

“I see.” Akechi thanked the kid before turning back to stare at the window.

‘ _Supernatural creatures eh? That sounds cool.’_

His eyes widen in awe. He wonders what sort of creatures live in there. He wonders if he will encounter one during this trip.

* * *

They cleaned the area. There was barely any trash and the view was beautiful. The forest was so big! Him and Makoto paired up together to clean up the area. They switched turns on who was going to hold the bag while the other pick up the trash. Makoto was quiet and listened to his headphones while they cleaned up the area. It wasn’t long before the teacher call the kids back to the camping site. Makoto was holding the trash bag and tied it up. All of the kids threw the trash away and went to the teacher, wondering what else was going to be part of the schedule for today.

“We have a few hours of free time before we have to meet up again for dinner! Go have some fun but remember to stay close to the campsite!” The teacher announced. The kids let out a cheer before wandering around in random places.

A group of kids however went straight towards Akechi.

“Let’s play hide and seek! Akechi’s it!” A kid said as he pointed to him.

Akechi looked at them in surprise. He couldn’t help the butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. They were finally talking to him and including him in their games! He noticed that these kids didn’t really participate in any of the rumors so they can’t be bad to hang out right?

“O-okay!” He nodded rapidly.

They left together and laughed at something. Akechi didn’t really concentrate on the conversation, his mind just bathed in the feeling of warmth of being surrounded by his classmates. He will leave a good impression on them that they would be willing to play with him after this trip too! He grinned as he nodded to whatever the kid said.

He noticed that they went past the dark red shrine gates and couldn’t help but ask the kid next to him, “Should we be going in here? Won’t we get in trouble by the priests if they catch us?”

“Don’t worry Goro (his face grew hot as he heard his first name being spoken by his classmate). They have another shrine in the town where all the priests live. You know, in the North part of the Central Shopping District. They rarely come up here, there’s no way they would be able to catch us!”

Akechi was confused, why would they have two shrines? Wasn’t that a waste of resources? He decided to ask.

“I don’t know, it’s something about this land being ‘sacred’. They only come up here a few times a year, like for New Years and to clean up the shrine.”

Akechi’s eyes widen. That sounds like a big deal!

The kid laughed at Akechi. “Come on! No one really believes in that kind of stuff anymore. It’s just stories they tell to scare the kids from coming into the mountains, but we’re smarter than that aren’t we?” The kid said the last part out loud and the other children cheered in agreement. Akechi was uncertain on what to believe, but he doesn’t know enough about Inaba to speak his thoughts on the matter.

They walked for quite a while, Akechi grew a little worried at how deep they were in the forest. The kids seemed to know where they were going, so he didn’t let the feeling fester and decided to put his trust in them.

“Okay, this looks like a good spot! Akechi, face that tree and start the countdown. Two minutes is good. Everyone else, scramble!” The boy yelled as everyone cheered. 

Akechi turned to the tree the boy pointed at and counted loudly so the kids could hear him. Akechi could hear the kids running, before their footsteps slowly faded. 

“Three. Two. One. Ready or not here I come!” Akechi stated as he looked around. The area was free of kids, the only thing he could see was trees and bushes. He was unsure where to head first, everything looked the same.

Akechi marked the tree as his starting point and walked towards the direction where the trees were farther apart from each other. The sunlight poured in between the branches made him feel less nervous about wandering around the forest randomly. He kept looking up on the tree’s branches, trying to see if any of the kids chose to climb on any of them. He also took his time to dig through the big bushes. He didn’t mind that he didn’t find anyone yet, this was pretty fun. He didn’t know how much time passed until he saw the sunlight turning more orange. He knew that the sun was setting even though the trees were too thick that he wasn’t able to get a clear view of the sky.

“U-uh, I-I give up! You guys win, p-please come back!” He yelled as his hands twisted into his shirt and he bit his lip. 

“Sora! Aoi! Yui! Akari…” He looked around, trying to find any hint of where they could be. 

‘ _Where should I go?’_

As the light was quickly fading, Akechi’s fear increased. His breaths got quicker as he tried to find the right direction to head back to the campsite. He heard a noise, a rustling in the bushes, behind him and he let out a huge shriek before running away as fast as his legs could carry him. He ran and ran until his legs finally decided to give out on him.

He tried to catch his breath as he sat on the floor. He concentrated to see if he could hear anything. He grabbed a stick nearby as a make-shift weapon as he heard a rustling sound nearby. As the noise came closer, he felt a presence right behind him.

_'Now!'_ he turned to slash the unknown thing as it came close to him.

"Woah hey!"

Akechi didn't noticed when his eyes were closed. He hesitantly opened them to see another kid. He couldn't help but grin widely when he saw him. 

He let go of his weapon to hug this boy. The kid tensed under his touch but slowly relaxed his muscles. It felt so nice to have someone else with him in this creepy forest. It made him feel less scared of the dark.

"You feel better now?" The boy asked him as he rubbed his back. The boy felt warm, really warm. Akechi was reluctant to release him but it was strange to be clinging onto a stranger for a long time. He let out a deep breath before nodding and releasing his hold on that boy.

Akechi moved back and out of the kid's personal space to give him a look over. This child had dark curly hair and piercing grey eyes. He doesn't seem to be in the same class or school as Akechi, but he was still new to everything. He must have missed him. 

"H-hello. Thank you for…" ' _For saving me? For letting me hug you? For being patient as I clung to you like a leech?'_ He wasn't sure what he was thanking the boy for but he finally decided on the words "being here."

"Don't sweat it. Let's get you back to the camp okay?" The boy's gentle eyes made Akechi believe that everything will be okay even though they were just two children alone in a huge dark forest. 

"Okay… thank you."

The boy led Akechi through the forest, Akechi was frightened for a moment that he was going to disappear into the darkness and reached out to grab onto his hand. The kid flinched and looked back at Akechi with wide eyes. 

Akechi felt embarrassed to tell him that he was scared so he just kept silent and looked down at the boy's clothes. 

Eventually the kid tightened his hand for a few moments before loosening his grip and continued walking, ignoring their linked hands. They walked quietly through the forest until Akechi couldn't stand the silence any longer and blurted out, "what's your name?" 

"It's Kurusu, Kurusu Akira." 

"I'm Akechi Goro. It's nice to meet you."

The kid nodded.

“U-uh, what class are you in? I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” Akechi hopes that they were in the same grade, maybe after this, they could hang out.

“I don’t live in your town.”

“O-oh…” He tried not to sound disappointed. “Where do you live? Maybe we can hang out sometime? I want to do something to thank you.”

Akira paused for a moment debating if he should answer. The longer it took for him to answer, the feelings of disappointment inside Akechi grows. 

He should’ve guessed it. 

Akira only helped him because he’s a nice person, not because he was interested in being friends with Akechi.

_‘He didn’t seem to like it when you grabbed onto his hand. Idiot Akechi! You made him uncomfortable!’_ He wanted to hit himself for scaring Akira off already. He slid his hand from Akira’s grip and clenched tightly onto his shirt instead.

“You don’t have to answer that if it makes you feel uncomfortable. I’m sorry for invading your privacy...feel free to ignore me.” His voice decreased volume until he was barely whispering the last few words. 

He didn’t realize that he stopped walking until Akira placed his hands on his shoulders.

“It’s not that! Sorry, I’m just not used to this.”

Akechi tilted his head. What does he mean by that?

“It’s just… I’m usually by myself so I’m not use to physical contact.”

“Oh, okay…” He bets this person was saying this just to be nice, but doesn’t really mean it.

The stranger noticed the dejected look didn’t leave Akechi’s face.

“How about this? You can tell me what days you’re going to be free and I’ll visit you.” Akira suggested.

“…okay.” Akechi smiled in return when he saw Akira’s smile.

And this was the beginning of a relationship between a supernatural creature and a human. The question is, how long will it take the supernatural creature to reveal its true nature? Will this story end in anguish and betrayal or relief and happiness? What do you guys think?

“Man, your story stinks Yosuke! Where’s all of the punching and fighting? That fox shoulda beat up all of the kids that were bullying Goro! Pow Pow!” Chie stood up from her seat and started dropping some high kicks.

“Hey! It’s not that kind of story and sit down before they kick us out!” He yelled as the tomboy ignored him to practice her punches in the middle of Junes’ food court.

“If you want more _interesting_ stories about the mountain, I have a better one!” Yukiko said with a bright smile on her face. “Narukami-kun, have you heard of the female ghost who goes up to handsome guys and asked if they could help walk her home? Then when they reach her house, she quickly grabs onto their arms and shoves them into the house and they are never to be seen again?”

“Wahh! Stop Yukiko! We go to those mountains every year to do the annual clean-up!” Chie shrieked.

Kanji shivered and whispered, “I’m not handsome, so that means that she wouldn’t be interested in me…right?”

Yukiko laughed as she saw how pale Kanji’s and Chie’s faces were. She has a lot more stories to tell them if this was going to be their reactions.

“There have also been rumors that there was an ancient battleground deep in the forest and the Shimenawa was placed around the whole area to seal off the evil wandering spirits from leaving that area and coming into our town, but sometimes when you’re in the mountain, you can hear the sounds effects of a battle and men dying at nighttime!”

“EEK!” Chie’s shriek made Kanji tensed up and jump to his feet to look for the offender. That what he told himself at least.

“O-oh look at the time! I-it’s g-getting late! Let’s go home everyone!” Chie whimpered as she looked at her phone.

“Chie let’s go home together. I have much more stories to tell you! My guests sometimes tells me horror tales from around the world!”

“N-no thanks! La La La! I'm plugging my ears!” Chie said as she dashed out of the department store as Yukiko giggles.

Yu watched as everyone was leaving and helped Yosuke cleaned up the area. Chie forgot to throw away her empty water bottle due to the fear of hearing another story from Yukiko so Yu grabbed hers and his empty bottles and threw them away while Yosuke wipe down the table.

“Hey, so do you think that your story was real? There was a lot of details that perfectly matched up with the town’s area. If it’s not, it’s very well written.”

“So the couple who fostered Akechi in the story were the Takamachi’s. I was curious about this story and asked them about their child one time and it turns out that he does exist. They told me that he moved to another town a few years back. I don’t know if I believe the supernatural fox part, but Akechi apparently did befriend a black fox back then. I think that the kid was really isolated due to his circumstances and the town just try giving him a bad reputation. But there’s no way that all of those Japanese folklore actually exists!” He laughed as he finished cleaning the table.

Yu thought about the fox who was trying to grant people’s wishes written on the ema at the Tatsuhime Shrine. It felt like the fox understood everything that he was saying. The story Yosuke told the group might have sounded a bit out there, but with everything that is happening in the TV world, it didn’t sound as crazy as to what they were doing. Even if the story turns out to be false, he wonders how this Akechi guy was doing.

As the group was leaving, a young couple who was sitting nearby finally bursted out laughing.

“Wow, was Mr. Fox really that helpless? My memory must have been hazy if I’m recalling all of these things differently. That creature who always like to nip onto my clothes when I was trying to sleep or was too busy to pay attention to him, just like a cat.” A brunette laughed as he held his stomach.

“What are you talking about? I think the story portray this Akechi character perfectly! The tears that was held back when poor little Akechi was in the forest when he was all lost and sad was top notch. I wish the story was a longer though. The way Akechi held on tightly to this Kurusu guy as they were navigating towards the camp afterwards, I bet the poor guy had bruises for days.” The black haired guy chuckled.

“H—hey! It couldn’t be helped okay?! I was only ten back then!” Goro flushed as Akira laughed again.

“Let’s get going. I bet your parents missed you.” Akira stood up and gave Goro his hand.

Goro looked annoyed at being laughed at. He grabbed the hand and squeezed it with all of his might.

“See? Bruises for days.” Akira chuckled as he ignored the pain and lifted him off of his seat.

“Argh!”

**Author's Note:**

> I tried making this sound young and childish but its Akechi. Ha ha.
> 
> Sorry if the ending was lacking, I just wanted a story with a child!Akechi making friends. Wow, having a story where Akira doesn’t talk for most of it was difficult to write.
> 
> Many human shampoo isn’t good for animals, but Akechi wouldn’t know that. He thinks soap equals clean which mean that it should work for everyone. However, Akira is a special little baby so this doesn’t affect him.


End file.
